Here comes the....flower girl!!

Hannah was in her first wedding this afternoon (well, second if you count the one where I was matron of honor when I was pregnant with her LOL). Her Sunday School teacher/favorite babysitter got married today and Hannah was the flower girl!!

Daddy and I weren't really sure what to expect of Hannah....would she drop the petals the right way or would she stop and arrange each one on the ground just the way she wanted it? Would she stand still during the ceremony or would she end up in a wedding montage on America's Funniest Home Videos??

Well, she blew us all away and did an AMAZING job!! I wouldn't say she stood still, but she was very sweet, respectful and quiet. She carried a basket down the aisle that was shaped like a baseball and was filled with rose petals. When she got to the end of the aisle, she put that down and picked up a gorgeous flower ball, that ended up weighing at least 5 lbs! But she did really well with it. She even got to hold the matron of honor's bouquet when the matron held the bride's bouquet!!

I wish I could share every single picture we took, but it was very dark in the ceremony and a lot of them came out fuzzy, so we don't have any good pictures of her walking down the aisle. Plus, we took over 230 pictures on our camera alone between the rehearsal and the end of the wedding! So, I've chosen a few of my favorites to share with you. Enjoy!!

Cailyn helping to dry Hannah's hair

Taking an important fruit-snack break while getting ready

Once we got to the church, we waited....

And then we waited some more...

Checking out the beautiful flowers

Practicing dropping her petals

Daddy-Daughter moment!

All ready to go!

She didn't shy away from the attention at all!

Hannah and the beautiful bride, Sara.

Having fun together, as always!

The start of the ceremony, very interested in what's going on.

Part way through, getting a little distracted...

What a sweet face!

Taking it all in.

This just looks like a magazine picture or something to me!

Fixing her dress just like the bride does!

Fixing the flowers

Watching Miss Sara and Mr. Kyle

Beautiful vows

Taking a rest!

Telling Miss Sara congratulations! (and asking if she was a princess!!)

Hannah with the Skeltons! (and Andrew, the ring bearer)

I'll post pictures/stories from the rehearsal later. We're all pretty worn out after a LONG weekend!

Peanut Butter Cookies!!

So, Hannah, Cailyn and I had already played chase about a million times, read all the books on the shelf at least twice, and all the bubbles are gone and it was only 1:30!! So, I remembered this awesome 4-ingredient recipe for peanutbutter cookies I have, so I asked Hannah if she wanted to make some. She, of course, jumped at the chance!!

Now, I'll admit this is the second time we've really cooked anything together (the first was the Empty Tomb Cookies for Easter). Granny's really good about getting Hannah up on a chair and involved in whatever she's making. But, I realized today just how much I underestimate this amazing little creature! I've considered baking with her before but always figured it would just end up being a clash of wills with her insisting she do everything and me trying to explain why she can't reach into the oven to get them. But, as in just about everything she does, she amazed me with her cooperative spirit, and as we both held the wooden spoon and stirred the 4 ingredients together and she exclaimed with a giggle, "This is FUN!!!" my mommy-heart melted and it hit me just how grown up she is, while still being so young.

So, anyway, enjoy the pictures!

I appologize now for the shots of her in her undies, but she tends to strip during nap-time and if its a hot day, and we're not going anywhere, putting clothes back on is just not a battle I have the energy to fight. LOL

Adding the gooey peanutbutter

"Look, Mom, its messy!"

Now the sugar...

Rolling the cookies up...

And putting them every so gently on the tray

Our favorite part (well, second fave for Mom) - squishing w/the fork!

Look at the concentration on her face!!

Ready to put into the oven!

Enjoying our creation. Cailyn cracks me up in this picture...just replace her sippy cup with a shot gun and she looks like those guys in the old-west photos. LOL

So proud of her creation! Oddly, neither of the girls liked the cookies. I mean, who doesn't like cookies??? But, oh well, leaves more for Mom!! Oh, and Dad. :o)

Jesus is a Man!

On the way to storytime this morning, Hannah and I had a very interesting conversation...

We passed a church that had a cross on it.
Hannah: Mommy, that was a cross!
Me: Yes, it was
Hannah: That's Jesus' place, isn't it?
Me: Well, yes, but Jesus is everywhere, not just at church.
Hannah: Oh, yeah?
Me: Yep!
Hannah: So, Jesus is in the grass and the trees and the cars....(long pause) Mommy, does Jesus drink coffee?
Me: (laugh) I don't know, sweetie.
Hannah: Mommyyyy, He's a man He drinks coffee!!!

I almost had to pull the van over because I was laughing so hard!

There's been several new posts this week, so scroll down to make sure you didn't miss one!

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!

Important Date=Bed!!

Tonight was Hannah's end of the year party for her preschool choir class at church and I stayed to help out. Usually I'll drop Hannah off at choir and bring Cailyn home and put her to bed, then Seth will bring Hannah home. Well, since I stayed tonight, that meant Cailyn stayed!

She did GREAT in her nursery "class", but on the way home it was very clear to me that we were ALL over tired! (I never realize how energizing that time alone when she's in bed and Hannah and Daddy are at church is until I don't get it! LOL)

So, we get home and I fix Cailyn's bottle (yes, she's still on the bottle, but that's a post for later) and she just loses it. This picture is from my phone (note to self: clean camera phone lens!). She collapsed into a huge bearhug of the fridge while I heated her bottle. As soon as the microwave beeped, she stopped crying, picked up her blankie and made a bee-line for her room.

I don't think she'll be staying for Wednesday night church on a regular basis anytime soon....

Happy Anniversary, Seth!!!

Who ARE those two kids?? Today, Seth and I have been married for 8 years! Where does the time go?? It really seems like yesterday that we were just dating and I was nagging him for a ring! ;o)

Its been an amazing 8 years...we've lived in Europe, gone to school, had 2 kids, been on staff at a church....we've crammed a lot in there!! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us over the next 8 years and pray we have a long, long, fruitful time together on this earth. I am truly blessed to have this man for my partner and friend, and to see him be a father to our two girls is nothing short of amazing!

He left today to take the youth to camp for a week. Some people asked me if I was upset, but why would I be?? Camp is like the Super Bowl for a youth group...its one of, if not THE, biggest and most life changing events of the year. I am honored that Seth would be willing to sacrifice a night of dinner and a movie for the spiritual well-being of "our" teenagers!

The Newest Olympic Hopefuls!

We've had quite the busy weekend! Granny came out for a visit and to help us have a yard sale on Friday and Saturday. I knew she would be a big help, but now looking back, I know there's NO way we could have had that sale without her help - so a big THANKS to Granny!!!

Having Granny around is pretty exciting stuff!

A lot of time was spent playing in Hannah's room

Granny brought out my wedding dress and veil, as there was a friend here that was interested in it. It was really neat seeing Hannah see the dress! Her and Cailyn had fun trying on the veil and "being princesses". Today on the way to take Granny to the airport, Hannah said, "Mommy, I'm going to be a princess someday and have my very own handsome prince!"

Something else the girls discovered this weekend was gymnastics! I remember watching the olympics as a small child and just being in awe of the gymnasts as well as the figure skaters. I would dream and pretend I was one of these super-people and day dream about flinging myself around all the apparatai (is that even a word??).

Well, Hannah was equally in awe of the girl gymnasts we saw on TV and immediately started running around the living room "doing exercise", as she called it. She can do all the things - uneven bars, vault, pommel horse, "the big blue floor", rings, and her favorite, the balance beam (or "balance thing"). She must've run around the house doing her gymnastics for at least an hour, two nights in a row!!! Enjoy a few shots of her "routine":

TA-DA!!!!

Of course, you know Cailyn couldn't see sister do all this and not join in! So, here's her version of gymnastics:


So proud!!

So, stay tuned...in a few years you may see these girls in the red, white and blue leotards!!

A Dream...